Oh, Baby!

 This is still Summer 2011, towards the end. Another somewhat brief summary just to catch up!

While at Jenni's house one night she got the opportunity to Skype with her husband. My good friend Sarah and I left the room so they could have some "alone time." While we were sitting in the kitchen I heard Jenni start to cry. It was a quiet cry, nothing dramatic, you could tell she was trying to hold her composure. As I listened to the weeps my heart was breaking for her. I couldn't imagine being pregnant and having my husband miss almost all of the pregnancy; the joys and woes that come along with the blessing. (He was going to be able to make the birth thankfully!) It made my situation of only having Thomas gone three months seem like a walk in the park. At that moment as I listened to her tears my gears started turning. We had no idea when Thomas would get deployed, but he still had months of training ahead in which a deployment would not be a threat, afterwards, we would go to Ft.Carson, Co. There was little to no change that he would get deployed so soon after going to his unit. So this would be the perfect time! Not only that, but I was eager to start my career as well, this baby would be due in early 2012 and I could be to work in Colorado by the end of the summer, sounded great to me! My biggest fear was for him to miss the pregnancy and birth. Me, being the planner that I am would try to avoid that pain at all cost....

As you might remember Thomas was a Ft. Knox at this time. I would make weekly or bi-weekly trips to see him. We would stay in a Econo Lodge close to base because he couldn't go far. That was our normal, living in separate spaces, but being able to come together every once in awhile. As we set up in bed watching t.v and eating Pizza Hut (our favorite hotel meal) I brought up the notion that I was ready to start having children. He looked at me with questioning eyes. He had talked about children, but I usually dismissed the idea because we both knew it wasn't the right time. "Why now?" he questioned me. Now, this didn't come to that much of a shock to him, we had been discussing the idea for weeks on the phone, but neither one of us seemed certain of the idea. I explained my reasoning and we discussed back and forth about the pro's and the con's. Thomas stopped me after awhile and told me that we just needed to pray about it. I agreed. So he got down on his knees, offered me to join him and there on that old hotel room floor we prayed for God's wisdom and guidance and not our will be done, but His. We had been through enough the past few years to know that we wanted God's timing...not ours!! 

About three weeks later I had missed a certain monthly visitor, along with that came a few other uncomfortable symptoms. Pregnancy test after pregnancy test were negative! I still was feeling ill so I decided to call my doctor and get a blood test. Blood test are very accurate so I knew for sure this would give me my answer. Negative. The nurse walked out and told me, I was okay with this. I knew we had prayed and I had full confidence that God had it under control. So I walked out of the doctors office thinking of all the fun Thomas and I would have in Colorado! Skiing, biking, hiking, camping, all the fun things I wouldn't be able to do while pregnant anyways! Another week past...this made 5! My symptoms were staying and still no visit from the menstrual fairy! I brushed it off thinking it was impossible to be pregnant I had a blood test to prove it! As I was walking in Wal-Mart I walked passed the lovely section that everyone speeds through without even looking at, so not to seem suspicious! The pregnancy test section! I knew it was crazy, but I found the cheapest one there was and stuffed it under a shirt I was going to purchase. Hey, even when your married you don't want people knowing your business! What if I ran into someone I knew??

Thomas happened to be in that weekend for a break. I can't remember if I even told him about the pregnancy test I had purchased...I don't think I did. I ran into the bathroom and took the test completely expecting to see another negative. I mean, why would it be anything but negative? It didn't take long at all to see two pink lines appear...Positive.

I stood there in utter shock. It couldn't be. How did the blood test miss that? It would have been able to tell me at 3-4 weeks if I was pregnant. In fact, I knew I HAD to be pregnant at that time already. It was a feeling like I had never felt before, the first moment you realize that you are carrying another soul and that they would call you mom...After the shock wore off on my face, there was a smile that was bigger than the Grand Cannon. I was so excited that we had been blessed with this pregnancy!

I had thought of many times growing up how I would tell my husband I was pregnant for the first time. visions of buying little onesies and wrapping them to open. Or maybe even wrapping the pregnancy test, or have a stork come to the door! NO, all of that was thrown out the window. I ran into the bedroom and still in a little shock myself, made the announcement! After a few..."what?" and "but the blood test..." questions, he was just as thrilled as I was. I went to the doctor and they did another test...this time positive! An ultrasound would show that I was 6 weeks along. :) This was the start of a new era in our marriage, and I'm not sure we were prepared for the weeks and months to come...We knew things were going to get harder, and expected that, but God was about to start taking us through a storm...literally and figuratively, that we were not expecting. He was to report to Ft. Lee, Virginia in four weeks for three more months of training. This time, I would go with him. We would move to Virginia on Aug. 27,2011 the day Hurricane Irene was scheduled to hit the coast of Virginia and cause massive destruction for many miles inland.

Up next: The woes of pregnancy and a hurricane!